A Very Long Summer
by HecateA
Summary: In which Padma is too shy, too awkward, and too gay for her sister's best friend to be spending the summer at their house. Oneshot.


**Author's note: **Yes, yes I did watch the "Girls Like Girls" music video twelve times before writing this. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.

**Hogwarts: **Assignment #4, Beauty Therapy Task #1, Write about something decorative.

**Warnings: **N/A

* * *

**A Very Long Summer**

Padma pushed open Parvati's bedroom door to peak inside, but her sister wasn't there. Instead, Lavender was sitting on the floor listening to one of Parvati's CDs, sporting jean cutoffs and a vividly yellow bikini top. Her box braids were piled into a massive bun. Her toenails had newly been painted a bold crimson red colour, with a polish that Parvati had had in her collection for ages though Padma had never let her sister use it on her—she wasn't quite bold or brilliant enough. Her fingernails were the same colour and her hands were busying themselves with a handful of colourful thread that she was braiding.

"Sorry," Padma said. "I, umm, I didn't mean to bother you. I'm looking for Par, I need to borrow our copy of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_."

"She ran out to the store to get nail polish remover," Lavender said. "She did that thing she does where she does your nails and then she immediately decides that another colour would suit you better."

"I like the red," Padma said. Immediately, she blushed. Why? Why would Padma even _open _the door that led to talking and thinking of how pretty her sister's best friend was?

Merlin.

"She's been gone so long, I nearly finished this," Lavender said, showing Parvati the bracelet she'd been making. It was a long strip of geometric patterns in blue, red, orange, and blue again against a canary yellow background.

"Pretty," Padma said. She was about to duck out before she had to spend more time with Lavender which would inevitably lead to more blushing and possibly Padma making a fool of herself—which was not at all why Parvati had invited her best friend to spend a few weeks of the summer with them.

"Come here," Lavender said, beckoning Padma over.

Padma chewed on her lip and then went to join Lavender on the floor. Lavender pulled Padma's leg so it rested on Lavender's crossed legs and promptly tied the bracelet around her ankle.

"A friendship bracelet?" Padma asked, definitely blushing against her will and against her best laid plans.

"Sure," Lavender said. "You're my best friend's little sister. I think we're friends by default."

"Right, yes, friends," Padma said, nodding along.

"Besides, you have beautiful skin," Lavender said. "And yellow really picks up on those gold undertones."

"Thank you," Padma said. She cleared her throat, even if she had nothing more to say, and pulled her leg back, tucking it closer. She ran her fingers along the bracelet and chewed her lip. Then, the front door downstairs swung open.

"Must be Parvati," Padma said. She jumped back onto her feet. "I'll, umm, leave you two to it."

"We're going to go swimming later, if you want to join," Lavender said.

"No, it's okay," Padma said. "You two are friends. I'll be… elsewhere."

She rushed out of the bedroom and closed the door behind her.

Still, when she was back into the safety of her bedroom where there were no pretty girls talking about her as if they weren't beautiful, she spent quite a lot of time running her fingertips against the woven bracelet.

She could still hear Lavender laugh though, which was quite contagious in and of itself.

This was going to be a long summer for Padma

* * *

Padma was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking the leftover coffee that their parents hadn't packed away before running off to work, when Lavender came down from upstairs wearing an oversized and ratty forest green sleeping t-shirt. Her hair was wrapped up in a silk head scarf with a pretty pattern that swirled together pink, blue, black, and white.

Padma's stomach dropped. She'd come home late last night, after going to a movie with Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein, and she hadn't even known that Lavender had been over.

"Good morning," Lavender said, yawning into the crook of her arm. Her toenails, this week, were a bright yellow colour that matched the bracelet on Padma's ankle.

She pulled down the leg of her pajama and tucked her leg underneath her to hide her bracelet.

"Good morning," Padma said. "Umm, coffee?"

"Sure, thanks," Lavender said. She took a mug from the cupboard and then turned back to the table. "Can I sit with you?"

Padma hid behind the copy of _The Daily Prophet _her parents had also left behind.

"Of course," Padma said quietly.

"Oh, crossword hasn't been done," Lavender said happily. "Did you want to..?"

Padma was going to melt into her chair.

* * *

When she answered the knock on her bedroom door she saw Lavender wearing a stunning canary yellow bathing suit under a pair of jean shorts. A towel was swung across her shoulder and her hair was gathered in a high ponytail with a bright green scrunchy. It did not escape Padma's attention that that bright yellow matched the bright yellow around her own ankle.

"Hey," Padma said, trying not to look surprised.

"Hi," Lavender said. "We were going to go swimming. You know, to celebrate the last day of summer and all that… then we were going to order pizza, watch some movies, finish packing…"

"I'm good here, where I am, but you, umm—you go ahead," Padma said, clearing her throat.

"Okay, well, if you change your mind you know where we are," Lavender said with a shrug before turning around and stepping down the stairs.

Padma shut the door and leaned against it, taking a deep breath.

She had nearly survived the summer but based on the feeling that her heart was about to explode, this was her closest call yet.

* * *

Lavender pulled her lips away from Padma's throat, from the pulsepoint she often found, just long enough to kiss the corner of her lips before going right back. Padma linked her legs around Lavender's waist, keeping her close. She tilted her head backwards against the wall she'd been pushed against to give Lavender more room, but something caught Lavender's eye and she pulled away.

She disentangled herself from Padma and knelt in front of her. She pulled up Padma's skirt just enough to reveal her ankle, and the little yellow bracelet that was resting there. The colours had faded a little through wear and tear, but Padma had figured out the right protective spells to put on it soon after.

"You still have this?" Lavender asked with a crooked smile on her lips, puffy from kissing and raspberry pink from her lip gloss.

"It's pretty," Padma said. "It's… and I liked hearing you say that we were friends. That you liked me."

"I should probably make you a new bracelet," Lavender said. "I don't corner everyone I give friendship bracelets to in empty classrooms, just so you know."

"Or you could come back here and kiss me," Padma said.

"No wonder you're a Ravenclaw, you beautiful mind," Lavender grinned, getting back up and taking Padma's face in her hands.

* * *

**Stacked with: **MC4A; Hogwarts

**Individual Challenge(s): **Rainbow Focus; Gryffindor MC; Ravenclaw MC; Summer Vacation; Seeds; Golden Times; Old Shoes; Themes & Things A (Friendship); Themes & Things B (Joy); Themes & Things F (Happy Endings); The 3rd Rule; Ethnic & Present; Rian-Russo Inversion; Flags & Ribbons; Hold the Mayo; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux

**Word Count: **1146


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